The present invention relates to an improved end catcher construction for a cloth-laying machine having a protruding cutter box assembly which precludes the use therewith of conventional end catcher assemblies.
By way of background, there are in existence certain types of cloth-laying machines having a protruding cutter box assembly. These cloth-laying machines are made to lay cloth in a single direction only and the laid cloth is severed from the roll of cloth on the machine at one end of machine travel. Thereafter, the machine travels to the opposite end of the cloth-laying table without laying cloth. After the machine reverses its direction at the opposite end of the table, the free end of the cloth is fed from the machine onto the table.
In the past, machines of this type generally did not have an end catcher associated therewith for gripping the free end of the laid cloth because the linear rate of cloth being fed from the machine equaled the linear rate of movement of the machine on the table. However, for certain applications, as where it is desired to tension the cloth being laid, it is desirable to have an end catcher for gripping the free end of the laid cloth. The end catcher is essentially a device having a certain amount of weight which lays on the cut end of the cloth to prevent it from being pulled by the machine. However, conventional end catchers cannot be used with a cloth-laying machine of the foregoing type because, as noted above, the cutter box assembly must at the end of machine travel occupy the location which is normally occupied by an end catcher, and therefore, the conventional end catcher cannot be used because there would be interference between it and the cutter box on the machine.